Marco Rubio Among Cabinet Members Left Off Of Trump's Secret Plane Ride: ReportSecretary of State Marco Rubio was among a group of top U.S. officials excluded from President Donald Trump’s undercover flight out of Turkey last month spurred by an Iranian assassination threat, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.Rubio was left on the former Air Force One jet while a few of Trump’s closest aides joined him on an airport catering truck that took them to a smaller Air Force C-32A, including White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Trump’s executive assistant Natalie Harp, according to the Post. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly also exited the original plane. Those left aboard Air Force One included other senior administration officials as well as military personnel and members of the press pool, though its unclear how many of them were aware of the president’s secret plan or the threat from Iran. Read more: Latest Live UpdatesU.S. Troops Defeated By Ukrainian Drones In Battlefield Exercise: WSJU.S. Army troops and armored vehicles were easily defeated by Ukrainian drones during a battlefield exercise earlier this year in Germany, according to The Wall Street Journal, About 3,500 U.S. personnel – reportedly equipped with counter-drone systems – participated in the exercise called “Combine Resolve” against the Ukrainians, who have become masters of drone warfare during their several years of war with Russia. Troops were tested on their ability to operate and defend against smaller front-line drones.“It is vital that the U.S. military master that, and thus far, unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case,” Center for Strategic and International Studies scholar Eliot Cohen told the Journal.Read more:2 Killed In Military Helicopter Crash Near Fort Hood, Officials SayAn Army Apache helicopter crashed in a central Texas field on Wednesday, killing both people on board and sparking a wildfire that forced several homes to be evacuated, a sheriff’s official said.Officials from nearby Fort Hood announced that the AH-64 Apache helicopter had crashed. Cliff Coleman, spokesman for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that both occupants died.Read more:You’re Not Gonna Believe This But Nobody’s Buying Lettuce Right NowThe Bureau of Labor Statistics released its consumer price index for July on Wednesday, and — you’re not going to believe this — lettuce is pretty, pretty, pretty cheap right now.Monthly lettuce prices last month were 16.4% lower than their seasonally adjusted average, likely in direct response to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has been causing extreme bouts of diarrhea across the country.While iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico was identified as one source, the source of other, unrelated cases is still not known.University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfers helpfully compiled the ongoing lettuce crash into a graphic:Trump's White House Construction Projects Could Cost At Least $900 Million: WaPoThe Trump administration’s various White House construction projects come with an eye-popping price tag, according to a Washington Post report that cited records including confidential contracts and planning documents. The total cost for projects including the new ballroom, helipad and visitor screening center is projected to be at least $927 million, with much of it covered by taxpayers, according to the Post. That figure is far larger than any previous estimates and represents one of the priciest overhauls of the White House grounds in years.“President Trump continues to implement long-overdue and necessary renovations to beautify the People’s House as we celebrate our great Nation’s 250th anniversary of independence,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Post. He declined to answer questions about the cost of planned projects and their funding sources.Read more at The Washington Post:Sailors Have Tried To Go Overboard Amid Extended Middle East Deployment: ReportsSailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have reportedly been experiencing mental health issues amid an extended deployment in the Middle East.In some cases, sailors have attempted to go overboard in suicide attempts, according to two new reports.Read more here:Trump Says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Is Leaving JobPresident Donald Trump announced Wednesday that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will be leaving her role at the end of the month.“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!” Trump posted on Truth Social.Trump said Leavitt will instead “be one of my top advisers, and an influential voice within the Republican party.”“Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018, including our Historic Re-Election Campaign of 2024,” Trump added. “Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!” Read more here.Breaking UpdateNick Reiner Indicted On Murder Charges In Fatal Stabbing Of ParentsThe Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has unsealed a grand jury indictment charging Nick Reiner with two counts first degree murder in the December 2025 killing of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.Reiner allegedly laid in wait with a knife before the fatal stabbings, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said, leading to additional escalated charges. He then fled the Brentwood home and was arrested later that evening in Exposition Park.Reiner has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 15 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. He’s being held on no bail.If convicted, he faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole. While the death penalty remains legal in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued a moratorium in 2019 via executive order, effectively halting all executions.“This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.“The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”Read more here. Rapper Who Admitted Using AI For Pop Side Project Gets Rare '0.0' Pitchfork RatingTyga’s sidequest as “$TARFACE,” a 1980s-inspired pop musician, landed with a resounding thud Wednesday at Pitchfork.Critics at the venerable music blog handed down a rare “0.0” rating, noting in particular the apparently extensive use of AI involved in $TARFACE’s creation, and also that it’s just objectively bad.“The rapper’s slop-pop concept album is smug and complacent and depressing,” Pitchfork’s Drew Millard wrote. “Its very existence has made the world a worse place.”Millard claims the album was so robotic he was “personally able to generate a song that sounded exactly like $TARFACE” using a widely available music AI music generator.Pitchfork last handed down a 0.0 in 2007 for the music compendium “This Is Next.” The last proper album to get a goose egg was Jet’s 2006 work, “Shine On.”In July, Tyga suggested to People Magazine that the 80s effects were entirely analog and human, but then backtracked entirely in an interview weeks later with Vibe.“Even down to the mixing, we used a lot of the old hardware,” Tyga told People. “Delays, harmonizers. Everything that we used was stuff that they used in the ‘80s. Now everybody uses the plug-ins and everything in Pro Tools. But we used a lot of the original hardware, and it just really gave it that warm sound.”Yet here he is saying the opposite to Vibe: “I’ve never spoken on this with anybody because I always felt like it’s similar to a magician explaining how he does his tricks… but we definitely used AI as a [tool]. And I know people are going to be mad about me saying this, but it’s where technology is going.”“We were like, ‘You know what? I need some ‘80 synths for a certain part of this song. I need a guitar solo done ASAP,’” he explained. “It is what it is.”Read Pitchfork’s review, here.Todd Blanche Is Annoyed He's Still Being Asked About His 'Anti-Weaponization' FundNewly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared bothered when asked about the future of President Donald Trump’s proposed “anti-weaponization fund,” despite introducing the fund. Blanche was asked during a Wednesday news conference about Trump’s reluctancy to say the fund is not moving forward and his recent claim that he still likes the concept of paying convicted Jan. 6 rioters. “I keep on saying this over and over again, but I’m happy to say it one more time: I have testified under oath that it’s dead,” Blanche said. “I have rescinded the order that set up the weaponization fund, which means that it does not exist.” But, Blanche said he agrees with Trump’s notion that those who were charged and sentenced for storming the Capitol are still owed something. “The president feels very strongly, as do I, that there were people who were victims of a DOJ that was absolutely weaponized,” Blanche said. “He feels very strongly he would want to make them whole, as do I. But it will not be through the anti weaponization fund.” Luigi Mangione Discussing Possible Federal Plea Deal: ReportsLuigi Mangione, the man accused in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is expected to discuss a possible plea deal in his federal case on Friday, according to multiple outlets.Mangione’s state murder trial is still scheduled to begin in September. But he is also charged at the federal level with stalking, and that trial is currently scheduled to begin in January.The reports come after a federal case hearing was hastily added to the calendar on Tuesday. ABC News stated that Mangione previously discussed a federal plea deal in June, although an agreement was not reached.Mangione is facing a potential sentence of life behind bars for Thompson’s shocking death, which played out at dawn in midtown Manhattan and set off a dialogue about the state of healthcare in America.See All Updates